Not only do we live in an incredibly progressive and changing world, we have multiple ways to check it out as it looks in real time, seeing the big picture in both 2D and 3D without ever actually taking a step or leaving the house. We have an assortment of software and hardware, allowing us to comprehensively view images and places that encompass a vast surface we once could only have imagined seeing overall from the air or from one of those old-fashioned paper maps that rarely grace the glove compartment anymore.

This concept applies to those who are making the images for us as well—especially for architects—who can now, thanks to digital design, sit at their desks or even on their couches and plot, plan, and create or re-create an entire community or world in miniature, or larger.

3D design and prototyping with 3D printing allows them not only a vast creative venue but also gives a clear, realistic way for them to review and edit the work they are producing for clients or for the public. Prototypes are used to put architecture into tangible form, with an easy way to go back to the drawing board and make tweaks until everything is just right. This will all be very helpful for a large project in the works for making a 3D printed replica of Chișinău, Moldova.

Often, architects use 3D modeling for presenting not just architecture contemporary to us, but also for going back and showing us how things once were, as was done with an enormous 3D printed replica of St. Petersburg, now on display at the city’s Admiralty Metro station, also serving as inspiration for the focus of this story, and another project in the works. The expansive, 3D printed replica of St. Petersburg allows viewers, citizens and tourists alike, to catch a glimpse of what the historic city looked like in the 18th century.

The city of Chișinău

The technology of 3D printing and its potential is currently keeping a team of architects very busy as they plan for the designing and re-creating of the entirety of a replica of Chișinău, the capital of Moldova.

Similar to the project recently completed for St. Petersburg, this complex 3D printing project (code named ‘EYE’) displaying Chișinău will allow it to be shown in quite the extensive, miniature grandeur, lit up in LED lights, and offering quite a dramatic look for those who see it after dark. The aesthetics should be incredible to see once it is finished, with plans to encase all of the 3D printed Chișinău replica in glass blocks.

An independent state after the USSR dissolved in 1991, Moldova is situated between Romania and Ukraine, with many tourists coming to the area each year. Chișinău is particularly well-visited due to the fact that it is connected to multiple other countries by train, as well as auto and plane. Since this project is elaborate, expected to be 400 square meters in size, and will take some time to complete, there is not yet an estimated date for the eventual unveiling.

A kiosk will also be placed at the site of the 3D printed replica so that viewers are able to find out more about the capital city, including history about Moldova and information about the culture, present and past. The Faculty of Urbanism and Architecture of the Technical University of Moldova will be responsible for the informational kiosk.

Thumbnail for 3D printed replica of Chișinău

The 3D printed replica will be placed in a bustling area of Chișinău for all to enjoy, on the same plane of the detailed 3D printed St. Petersburg now on full display after a $5 million project that features thousands of figures, road footage, and even 20 tons of water. That display, which costs a modest admission price ($5-10, depending on weekdays or weekends) to view, encompasses 16,146 square feet just to give you an idea of what they may be planning to do for the Chișinău replica, which we look forward to reporting on further as it progresses and is completed.

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